Forest Whitaker

Though actor Forest Whitaker started college on an athletic scholarship, the charismatic and award-winning performer made the unlikely shift from football to studying to become a classical tenor and e...
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Typically, the whole idea of "murder mystery" comes with its strain of hurdles. Taking on the task of figuring out the who, how, and why of an unsolved crime is bound to get you into some compromising situations... especially if you're not actually a trained detective, but instead just some guy attending his high school reunion. Searching for Sonny stars Jason Dorhing (Veronica Mars) and Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) as former students who vie to find the answers when an old friend (Masi Oka of Heroes) goes missing.
Fortunately, they seem to have some help: a shifty glasses-wearing fellow with the moniker "Barry Boof," who understands that when things start getting heated, there's only one way out. And it's a very... um, creative strategy. Check it out in the below exclusive clip from Searching for Sonny, directed by Andrew Disney. The film comes out on Blu-ray/DVD on August 28.
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Forest Whitaker Talks Robert De Niro's Zen in 'Freelancers' — EXCLUSIVE CLIP

At the forefront of the cast of the upcoming crime drama Freelancers is one of America's most incredible living actors: Forest Whitaker. As monumental a cinematic identity as the Platoon and Last King of Scotland star might have, he nonetheless feels humbled by the professional company of certain actors — one being his Freelancers costar, the great Robert De Niro. Whitaker explains in the exclusive video below that De Niro, whom Whitaker grew up watching on the big screen, embodies a "centered" behind-the-scenes presence, which results in fantastic performance (for De Niro and those with the privilege of working with him).
The film, which is directed by Jessy Terrero and stars 50 Cent and centers around a young man who follows in his murdered father's footsteps and joins the New York Police Department, only to take up with some of the dangerous characters with whom his dad kept company, and to stumble upon the truth behind his father's death. Check out the exclusive video featuring an interview with Whitaker, and catch the film on Blu-ray and DVD on August 21.
[Photo Credit: David Edwards/Daily Celeb]
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Name a thing. Chances are, it gets shot in the new The Last Stand trailer. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a gun, and a badge, a short temper, and a friend with an ushanka (Johnny Knoxville). What he doesn't seem to have is a bit of hesitation regarding taking down anybody who gets in the his way of his mission — which entails stopping an escaped convict from reaching the Mexican border.
While a two-minute trailer can easily maintain this degree of constant action, the final product of The Last Stand will likely have to pad its explosions with character moments between the members of its pretty enticing cast: Schwarzenegger, Knoxville, Genesis Rodriguez, Forest Whitaker, Harry Dean Stanton, and the great Luis Guzman. Add on one of South Korea's premiere directors, Jee-woon Kim, and you have a package whose talent can't be denied. Can the movie live up to Schwarzenegger's legacy of standout action flicks? It does seem as though the film has a good sense of humor about its absurd uses of firearms and flammability; if this holds true, The Last Stand might be an incredibly fun turn for Schwarzenegger, who also has a great history of comedy to his name.
Check out the trailer below, and click over to Apple to see the HD version.
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The filmmaker adapted his 1981 book of the same name for the big screen and the teen movie, directed by Amy Heckerling and starring Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh, was released in the U.S. on 13 August, 1982.
Thirty years later, Crowe has revisited his work and paid tribute to everyone who helped to make his first screenwriting effort an underground success in a touching note posted on fansite TheUncool.com on Monday (13Aug12).
Crowe's message reads: "On the last day of filming Fast Times at Ridgemont High there were high-fives and happy/sad goodbyes. Amy Heckerling had powered through a tough schedule, and we'd snuck the movie through the studio system, in no small part thanks to our fiercely funny and protective producer Art Linson.
"Sean Penn, who'd been in character the entire filming, arrived in a brown corduroy jacket and introduced himself. 'I'm Sean,' he announced. We all felt instantly nostalgic for the blonde (sic) stoner we'd known and called Jeff for the previous three months.
"I looked around, and saw one of the red trash cans that had followed us from location to location, from the Sherman Oaks mall to Van Nuys High (in California). It's been in my writing room ever since. Happy 30th Anniversary... and thanks to all the cast, crew and fine friends we still have from those b**chin' summer days of not so long ago..."
Fast Times at Ridgemont High also featured early acting appearances from Forest Whitaker and Nicolas Cage, who was then billed under his birth name, Nicolas Coppola.

The Butler chronicles Allen's life as the White House manservant to eight American leaders and their families.
Forest Whitaker will play the title role and Oprah Winfrey his wife, while the all-star cast also includes Minka Kelly (Jackie Kennedy), Alan Rickman (Ronald Reagan), Jane Fonda (Nancy Reagan) and Robin Williams (Dwight D. Eisenhower).
Filming is scheduled to start later this month (Jul12) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Robin Williams may seem like an unlikely candidate to play not one, but two, U.S. Presidents, but the Oscar-winning actor now has those bragging rights. Williams, who previously played President Theodore Roosevelt in the popular Night at the Museum films, will next take on the task of bringing President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the screen.
The 61-year-old will star as the 34th President of the United States in Lee Daniel's upcoming feature The Butler. Williams joins an impressive ensemble which includes Oprah Winfrey, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Terrence Howard, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, and Forest Whitaker. The film follows the true story of White House employee Eugene Allen, who worked for First Families over the span of three decades.
The Butler's writer Danny Strong (Game Change) tells Hollywood.com, "It's inspired by [a true story]. You're also dealing with true historical events. It's kind of a sweeping look at the Civil Rights movement from Eisenhower to Reagan. There are the Freedom Writers, the March for Selma, the sit-ins. There are a lot of true story, true life events in it."
Williams isn't the only star to play a president this election year. Fellow (traditionally) funny man Bill Murray transforms into Franklin D. Roosevelt in this winter's Hyde Park on Hudson, while Daniel Day-Lewis will be the second actor to portray Abraham Lincoln this year (after Benjamin Walker's attempt in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) for Steven Spielberg's wildly anticipated biopic Lincoln.
Additional reporting by Matt Patches [Photo credit: DailyCeleb.com]
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The Good Will Hunting star will go bald to play the 34th leader of the United States, while Melissa Leo is slated to portray his wife Mamie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film is based on the true story of White House domestic worker Eugene Allen, who served under eight First Families.
Williams joins an all-star cast, which features Forest Whitaker in the lead role, Minka Kelly as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda portraying Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
The project is set for a 2013 release.

The Sahara star was handpicked to play the assassinated President opposite Minka Kelly's Jackie Kennedy in the star-studded biopic of White House manservant Eugene Allen, but he has decided the role will be better served by another actor.
He tells movie new website, 24Frames.com, "It's not going to happen for me. It was going to take some good hard work on my part for sure - and it was more than an accent. I’ve done accents before. And you can see, you can tell when it’s just coming out from the neck up.
"When you see it done well, they walk different, they sit different - it’s coming out of their feet. There was a lot of work that I was looking forward to putting in on that. But, for certain true reasons, it’s not going to happen."
The film features Forest Whitaker as the titular butler, who served under eight U.S. presidents, and Oprah Winfrey as his wife.

A kids’ movie without the cheeky jokes for adults is like a big juicy BLT without the B… or the T. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted may have a title that sounds like it was made up in a cartoon sequel laboratory but when it comes to serving up laughs just think of the film as a BLT with enough extra bacon to satisfy even the wildest of animals — or even a parent with a gaggle of tots in tow. Yes even with that whole "Afro Circus" nonsense.
It’s not often that we find exhaustively franchised films like the Madagascar set that still work after almost seven years. Despite being spun off into TV shows and Christmas specials in addition to its big screen adventures the series has not only maintained its momentum it has maintained the part we were pleasantly surprised by the first time around: great jokes.
In this third installment of the series – the trilogy-maker if you will – directing duo Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath add Conrad Vernon (director Monsters Vs. Aliens) to the helm as our trusty gang swings back into action. Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) are stuck in Africa after the hullaballoo of Madagascar 2 and they’ll do anything to get back to their beloved New York. Just a hop skip and a jump away in Monte Carlo the penguins are doing their usual greedy schtick but the zoo animals catch up with them just in time to catch the eye of the sinister animal control stickler Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand). And just like that the practically super human captain is chasing them through Monte Carlo and the rest of Europe in hopes of planting Alex’s perfectly coifed lion head on her wall of prized animals.
Luckily for pint-sized viewers Dubois’ terrifying presence is balanced out by her sheer inhuman strength uncanny guiles and Stretch Armstrong flexibility (ah the wonder of cartoons) as well as Alex’s escape plan: the New Yorkers run away with the European circus. While Dubois’ terrifying Doberman-like presence looms over the entire film a sense of levity (which is a word the kiddies might learn from Stiller’s eloquent lion) comes from the plan for salvation in which the circus animals and the zoo animals band together to revamp the circus and catch the eye of a big-time American agent. Sure the pacing throughout the first act is practically nonexistent running like a stampede through the jungle but by the time we're palling around under the big top the film finds its footing.
The visual splendor of the film (and man is there a champion size serving of it) the magnificent danger and suspense is enhanced to great effect by the addition of 3D technology – and not once is there a gratuitous beverage or desperate Crocodile Dundee knife waved in our faces to prove its worth. The caveat is that the soundtrack employs a certain infectious Katy Perry ditty at the height of the 3D spectacular so parents get ready to hear that on repeat until the leaves turn yellow.
But visual delights and adventurous zoo animals aside Madagascar 3’s real strength is in its script. With the addition of Noah Baumbach (Greenberg The Squid and the Whale) to the screenwriting team the script is infused with a heightened level of almost sarcastic gravitas – a welcome addition to the characteristically adult-friendly reference-heavy humor of the other Madagascar films. To bring the script to life Paramount enlisted three more than able actors: Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston) Gia the Leopard (Jessica Chastain) and Stefano the Italian Sealion (Martin Short). With all three actors draped in European accents it might take viewers a minute to realize that the cantankerous tiger is one and the same as the man who plays an Albuquerque drug lord on Breaking Bad but that makes it that much sweeter to hear him utter slant-curse words like “Bolshevik” with his usual gusto.
Between the laughs the terror of McDormand’s Captain Dubois and the breathtaking virtual European tour the Zoosters’ accidental vacation is one worth taking. Madagascar 3 is by no means an insta-classic but it’s a perfectly suited for your Summer-at-the-movies oasis.

A year after Katie Holmes hit the small screen as the fashion icon and socialite in controversial TV mini-series The Kennedys, Kelly is slated to play the former U.S. First Lady in Lee Daniels' upcoming film The Butler.
The movie chronicles the life and career of Eugene Allen, who served as the White House butler for 50 years.
The all-star cast includes Forest Whitaker as Allen and Oprah Winfrey as his wife, while Jane Fonda has signed on to portray another First Lady, Nancy Reagan.
Reports suggest Matthew McConaughey, Alan Rickman, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman and Daniels' Precious break-out star Lenny Kravitz will also have cameos in the film.

Title

Offered Oscar-winning performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"

TV-movie directing debut, HBO urban drama "Strapped"; earned director's award for best first feature at Toronto Film Festival; Kiefer Sutherland acted in film and Whitaker repaid the favor by appearing that year in Sutherland's directorial debut "Last Lig

Played one of a trio terrorizing a woman and her child while looking for missing money in "Panic Room"

Guest starred on five episodes of NBC medical drama "ER" as a carpenter who ends up being paralyzed by a stroke after being admitted for a cough; earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Returned to the world of jazz as trumpeter Buddy Chester, a top sideman who discovers he has a malignant brain tumor, testing his friendship with Jeff Goldblum and Kathy Baker in Showtime's "Lush Life"

Cast opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in action feature "The Last Stand"

Played a Federal Marshall in HBO's "Witness Protection"

Co-starred in action thriller "A Dark Truth"

Executive produced Sundance Channel docu-series "Brick City"

Signed development deal with Columbia-TriStar

Directed first major stage production "Dreams Across the Realm"

Performed in Los Angeles productions after college, including "School Talk" (Mark Taper Forum) and "The Greeks" (Drama Studio London); also acted in "Jesus Christ Superstar," and "Beggar's Opera" (both at California Youth Theater)

Acted in Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money" and Oliver Stone's "Platoon"

Summary

Though actor Forest Whitaker started college on an athletic scholarship, the charismatic and award-winning performer made the unlikely shift from football to studying to become a classical tenor and eventually, an actor. After gaining some attention in several stage musicals, Whitaker made an immediate impression with a small, but memorable role in his feature debut, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982). Following a quick succession of supporting roles in features and on television, he earned his first wave of critical accolades for his portrayal of drug-addicted jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker in "Bird" (1988). Once he was established as a viable leading man, Whitaker easily oscillated between low-budget and studio projects, earning equal acclaim for his performances. Taking his career to the next level, he made several earnest, but ultimately mediocre forays into feature directing - most notably "Waiting to Exhale" (1995) - but continued to churn out one sterling performance after another until finally reaching new heights with his Oscar-winning portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland" (2006), which came hot on the heels of another mesmerizing performance as an obsessive internal affairs officer on season five of "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08). Both roles only confirmed what many had already known - that Whitaker was one of Hollywood's most versatile, surprising and talented actors of his day.

Name

Role

Comments

Autumn

Step-Daughter

Born 1991 to Keisha Nash; was flower girl at the Whitaker-Nash wedding

Born 1990 from a previous relationship; was ring bearer at father's wedding to Keisha Nash

Deborah Whitaker

Sister

Older

Education

Name

University of Southern California

Drama Studio London

California Polytechnic Institute

Palisades High School

Notes

"As a black man, Mr. Whitaker is especially pleased that some of his parts, including the ones in 'Good Morning, Vietnam' and 'The Color of Money' and one in Walter Hill's 'Johnny Handsome,' were at first written for white characters. 'I've been more fortunate than a lot of black actors,' said Mr. Whitaker." – from "Switching To a New Camera Angle" by Bernard Weinraub in The New York Times, Aug. 17, 1993

On filming "Strapped" in Brooklyn's Fort Greene district and using community residents in the film: "[Danger] was a big concern of the production team. But it was always my contention that we couldn't ignore the people that were there and move away to shoot the film: That's a big part of the problem, not looking at the situation and dealing with it. Once we were there, we had a blast." – Whitaker to Stephen Schaefer in USA Today, Aug. 19, 1993

"Directing is more comfortable for me, because as an actor there's always something inherently false. Because I'm not that person. I can spend a week in jail, but I'm still leaving. I once talked to a shaman who said, 'What makes you think these characters you play aren't real? I think you should examine that.' But it has always been my great frustration as an actor that I can't go deep into the thoughts, feelings and history of the character. As a director, I feel like it's real. I get caught up in the emotions and the story. I like being a storyteller." – Whitaker to Movieline, December 1996

"Both 'Exhale' and 'Hope Floats' are about people overcoming problems, trying to regain belief in themselves. These are themes I'll always address, whether in a male or female-driven film." – Whitaker to Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1998

"If you enslave people, beat and rape them, separate them from their families, force them to fight against each other – if you create that kind of abuse, of course it's going to be passed down generationally. Since it was only about thirty years ago when we couldn't ride in the front of the bus, there must be some acknowledgment of the past to feel good about yourself now. So to have an African-American film that's yours and is doing well and everybody loves it, that's not only a source of pride but a source of healing. When at a certain point, the healing has actually occurred, you can accept broader themes. Even though Jewish people are doing really well they continually, through their art, remind themselves of their past and recognize themselves as a cultural group. I feel if you have an acceptance of others you'll find the similarities between you and them are immense. The Judaic tradition and the Egyptian or Arabic traditions are almost the same." – Whitaker to Interview magazine, June 1998

About why he named his daughter True and son Ocean: "I want those names to be their destiny, for my daughter to be honest and my son to be expansive. I try to be like a forest, revitalizing and constantly growing." Forest knows an odd name can be hard for a child: "Kids would tease me, calling me 'Little Bush.' But, I thought being called Forest helped me find my identity." – Whitaker to Webster Hall curator Baird Jones, quoted in the New York Post, Dec. 11, 1999

On Nov. 3, 2001, Whitaker was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence.

Whitaker devotes most of his reading to "ancient texts" and philosophy books. He believes one's name is one's destiny: "I try to be like a forest, revitalizing and constantly growing." – from Biography, September 2002

Whitaker worked closely with a number of charitable organizations. He served as an Honorary Board Member for Penny Lane, an organization that provides assistance to abused teenagers. He was also involved with 4-D All Stars, a motivational mentor program for teenagers as well as The Watts Cinema Project.

In 2009, Whitaker was selected by President Obama as a member of the President's Committee on Arts and the Humanities.